Bibliography
Work Cited
"Mansa Musa, Emperor." UXL Biographies. Detroit: UXL, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
Tesfu, Julianna. "Musa, Mansa (1280-1337) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Musa, Mansa (1280-1337) | The Black Past. Black Past, n.d. Web. Dec. 2015.
Dowling. "Mansa Musa." - Mandinka. N.p., n.d. Web. Dec. 2015.
Watkins, Jeffery. "African Trading Kingdoms." Regents Prep Global History. Regents Prep, n.d. Web.
Sagner, Bailey. "Timeline - Mansa Musa." Timeline - Mansa Musa. When in Time, n.d. Web. Dec. 2015.
Jubilet. "Timeline - Mansa Musa Timeline." Timeline - Mansa Musa Timeline. When It Time, n.d. Web. Dec. 2015.
Top Moments
Here are some of the top moments from my journey
- My three month stay in Cairo. This trip opened my eyes to different places across the Sahara, and increased my relations outside of my own country.
- Spreading my wealth across my route. Giving, is one of my favorite activities. And along my trip I gave away millions of dollars in gold. This spread my fame worldwide and created many legends and tales of my wealth.
- Being introduced to Ishaq El Teudjin. I consider him one of my personal friends and he brought architectural splendor to Mali through the mosques and palaces he built.
- I am a very lavish person, so having a huge entourage of slaves, camels, gold and colleagues with me on my journey was very nice. Definitely one of my top moments.
- The completion of the Hajj was very exciting. As a devout muslim this experience was very important to me. My entire entourage walked around the Ka’Ba with me.
Cultural Differences
Here: I have highlighted a few cultural differences I noted along the way.
- The pyramids in Cairo were splendid. They were different from any type of architecture that I have seen, and inspired me to create beautiful buildings in my own country. I want mosques and palaces to rival their beauty.
- In the middle east I was introduced to new types of Islamic literature, poetry and art. This is what I took home with me to introduce to my kingdom.
- Along the way, I was introduced to new goods, which later made their way through the trade capital of my empire Timbuktu, such as; salt, copper, and iron.
- I discovered in the North, new weapons that aided me later in controlling my surplus of slaves.
- Mecca was very culturally different. Completing the Hajj by walking around the Ka’Ba was extremely different from my culture.
Travel Journal
The tales of the travels of the great Mansa Musa, 10th ruler of Mali.
September, 1324
Hello, I am Mansa Musa. The tenth ruler of the great city of Mali. Where to start my tale? I have a wonderful life here in Mali. I live luxuriously and have more gold than the gods themselves! My kingdom is happy, and unified but I still feel like there is something missing. The journey on which I am about to embark I know I must do. Not only for myself but also for my kingdom. This month, I will set out on the hajj to Mecca. (Student resources in context). It is important to me, as a devout muslim to fulfill this pillar of Islam. But do not worry! I will not be making this journey alone! No I plan to travel fully equipped. My entourage will include; 60,000 men and 12,000 slaves with each slave carrying a 4 pound staff of gold. also 80 camels each carrying 300 pounds of gold. (Jubliet) Some of my goals of this trip include; spreading knowledge of my kingdom to more of the world, spreading my wealth as I go, learning more about my religion, and bringing back cultural, philosophical and architectural ideas to my kingdom. We set out in a little over a week and there is much to do to prepare! Our next stop will be in the city of Cairo. (Black past) I will write next I have a chance!
1324- Departure
Leaving Mali has been much more difficult than I had anticipated! I’ve been trying to leave the city now for three days. After my subjects caught wind of my travel people have been crowding the streets to see me off! (Bailey) There has been nothing but wonderful celebrations and festivities as far as the eye can see. As a good emperor I have tried to be supportive of my kingdom. It is clear that they have so much adoration for me. They are also possibly surprised at my decision to make the Hajj since I am the first Malian emperor to do so. (Bailey)
1324- arrival in Cairo
Greetings, it has been a week since I have come to the great city of Cairo. We have stopped here so that I could meet the Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad. (whtime) for the first three days we camped near the Pyramids. I must say that they are the most beautiful things that I have ever witnessed. They way that they almost shimmer in the sunlight is extraordinary and is so different from what I have in my kingdom. It inspires me to create magnificent things in my kingdom like this. After this first three days I decided to send a small gift, of 50,000 dinars to the wonderful Sultan of this great land. (whtime) Just this morning, he wrote me a kind thank you. And extended the use of his palace for the summer.(whtime) I do believe that we will stay here awhile longer, it is lovely.
1324, leaving Cairo
well I have had the most lovely time here in Cairo. My entourage and I have spent three incredibly months in the splendor of Egypt. (whtime) However I do believe we may have just stayed our welcome. I might admit, that while I was here I got a bit… carried away? Being as rich as I am I wanted to higher my reputation, and help this land. Over my stay I have given thousands of ingots of gold. They Egyptians have begun to charge five times the normal price. It’s clear that the value of my Gold is beginning to decrease. I spoke the other day with a mathematician who said it could lower as much as 25 percent.(whtime) I hope that this city will find economic harmony again and I haven’t done too much damage. I have rather enjoyed myself but I must continue what I came here to do and that is the Hajj.
1324 Arrival at Mecca!
At last! After 3,000 miles through the Sahara (Jubilet) I have arrived in Mecca! People have been, curious to say the least to see me. Most of them have never heard of an African ruler and are surprised and excited to receive me. I’ve already seen paintings of my face going up across the city it is fascinating. (Dowling) I plan to gift this wonderful city with lots of gold. (Student Resources in Context) I would like to leave this place with a strong memory of me.
1325 My return
It has been a year since I left Mali. I have had so many important occurrences over my trip. One of the most successful parts of this trip has been the people I am bringing home with me. One of my new friends, is an architect named Ishaq El Teudjin. He has shared with me advanced building techniques and has agreed to build buildings in Mali for me. (Black past) Along with him, are a number of scholars, and islamic leaders to improve the intelligence of my kingdom. (Student Resources in Context) Another success of my trip was the spreading of my name through the middle east. I have already seen atlases adorning my name and my name has spread through Europe. (Student Resources in Context.) Upon my arrival home, The state of Mali has continued on smoothly without me. The kingdom has strived for a year in perfect harmony with no complications. I feel like the successes of my journey will only continue. (whtime)
1337- reflecting on my life.
It has been over ten years since my journey. I have had a very successful career due to my Hajj. For one, I am well known all over the world and so is my kingdom. Because of this, our trade relations have skyrocketed. Timbuktu in particular has become well known and successful for its trade.Gold, salt, slaves, and locally made Kola nuts have aided this. We rival leading European cities like Venice, Paris and Milan in population and Economic and intellectual activity. (Black Past) Since my Hajj, Mali has become one of the world’s foremost Islamic academic and Financial centers. Ishaq El Teudjin has proven most useful. He created a palace named Madagou, a mosque at Gao, and the most prominent, a mosque in Timbuktu called the Djinguereber. Islamic education has boosted, many libraries and universities have been added by the Islamic scholars that followed be back from Mecca. (Student Resources in Context) I believe, that over my reign, Timbuktu has become the center of Islamic Sub- Saharan Africa.
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